Improvement in shuttle-guide for looms



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gtlui WILLIAM- HASTNGS, OF PALMER, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 86,668, dated February 9, 1869.

IMPRovnMEN-r- IN SHUTTLE-GUIDE PoR Looms.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. HAs'rINes, of Palmer, in the county ofHampden, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImproved Shuttle-Guide; and I do hereby declare that-the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which-Figure 1 is a front-view of one modification of my invention Figure 2 isa front view of another modification of the same;

Figure Slis a vertical transverse section through line DE of g.2;and lFigure 4 is a vertical transverse section through line B O of fig. l.

My invention relates to a device for use, in connection with or upon aloon, to prevent the shuttle from doing serious injury when it dies fromthe loom; and consists in such construction thereof as will enable theIoperator to adjust broken or loose threads, or do anything` about theloom in connection with the shuttle or threads, without the removal ofthe guide which may at the time be attachedto the loom.

It is well known that in weaving, the shuttle often flies out of theloom; and as it is thrown from one end of the loom to the other withgreat force, when it does so leave the loom, much damage is often doneby it, and oftentimes 'more or less personal injury results therefrom;and to prevent such damage, either to the cloth, machinery, or to theoperator, it has been found desirable to place a guide 'upon the loom,so that when the shuttle does fly out, it may strike the guide, and beeither entirely stopped by it, or its course be so changed that it cando no damage.

. I obviate all the objections to a rigid or fixed guide by the use ofan elastic or flexible guide, which is sufficiently firm to change thedirection of the shuttle when thrown from the loom, while it is easilymoved to one side in the operation of readjustiug broken or displacedthreads, without any apparent effort ou the part of the operator.

That others skilled in the art may be able to make and use my invention,I will proceed to describe its construction and the mode of itsoperation.

In the drawings- A represents the beam or rail of the loom, having ahole at each end, through or into which is inserted the brace d, whichmay be a curved piece of suitable metal, as shown in fig. 4,v and havinga screw-thread made upon one end, upon which fits and turns the nut j, awasher, t', being used if desired.

The other end of said brace has a groove or bearing therein, as shown ate and at bis a collar or shoulder, which may be of any form desired, butI prefer to make it square; and a small recess is made in the beam A,and the collar b set or fitted therein.

By this construction, if the collars or shoulders b it the saidrecessproperly, the brace d is kept in its position more firmly, andanylateral movement or turning of said brace in its socket is prevented.

Other holes, one outside of each brace d at o c, are made in the beam A,each hole c being enlarged upon the back side 'of the beam at n.

Any sufficiently-elastic material, as rubber cord, may be cut or made ofa proper length, and the ends, being inserted through the holes o lv,are bent over to form a loop, as shown in fig. 4, and tied securely ats. This prevents the cord from pulling through the hole It might befound, in practice,A that a simple knot would answer the same purpose,or a button attached to each end of the cord might bc used.

The bracesd d have each a projection or pin, a, thereon, upon theoutside of each brace, toward the end of the beam A, and the said bracescl d, being scf` cured firmly in place, the elastic cord c is insertedin the holes lu fu, and secured as above described, and said cord isplaced over and upon the pins or projections a a, and is then drawn downand placed in the grooves or bearings e e, in the ends of the braces dd, when it is ready for use.

Figs. 2 and 3 show another modification of the same invention, whereinthe braces d differ somewhat in constructionfrom those in the devicealready described, although the principle of operation remains the same,the form of the braces d d` being adapted to the use of a metallic rod.

Said braces d are secured to the beam `A in precisely the same manner asare those hereinbefore described, and instead of the elastic cord c, ametallic rod, c', may be used, said rod c' having a loop or eye, l, ateach end.

VA short elastic cord, h, is secured to the beam A in the' same positionand in the same Vmanner as hereinbefore described, and one end of saidcord h is secured to the eye l at one end of the rod c', in the samemanner as it is prevented from pulling out of the beam A, or in anyother desirable manner, one cord,` h, being at each end of the rod c'.

The cordsrbeing secured to the rods c" and to the beam A, said cords areplaced over and upon the pins a a in the braces d d', and the rod cplaced in the bearings e e in the lower part of the braces d' d', andthe device is ready for use.

The operation of my invention is as follows:

The device, as above described, being attached to the beam of a loom, ifit -is desired to adjustbroken threads, or to perform any operationwhere the cord c would interferevif it were rigid or fixed, the cord cis Ward along the lower side of the braces cl el toward the beam A,While the desired operation is being at the same time performed, andwhen the pressure is' r'emoved, the rod c' is brought back into thebearings e e by the elastic force of the cords h h.

It is evident that instead of elastic cords, any elastic material may beused, or any arrangement of springs to operate the rod c', or keep it inits bearings, without departing from the principle of its' operation,and, in practice,'it might be found Ydesirable to change somewhat theform of the lower side of the brace d, in order to o'er more or 'lessresistance'to the rod c' in its movements from its bearings e e.

In actual operation upon a loom, the distance between thevbraces wouldbe very much greater than is shown in the drawings, as the rod c or cordc would be nearly as long as the distance travelled by the shuttle, oras the Width of the web of cloth being woven, and the pressure necessaryto force either the cord or rod inward would be slight.

The cord c might be stayed to the beam A in one or more places betweenthe brac-es, if found desirable, to give it greater rigidity, while therod c', resting in its bearings e e', would be perfectly rigid, asregards any outward pressure ofthe shuttle against it, and at the sametime it is free to move inward at any slight `pressure of the handagainst it, and the elastic force of the cords y.7i h might be madeadjustable by means of a tension-screw attached to the beam A.

In practice, the rod c might be pivoted to the braces, and the ends ofsaid rods might extend above the pivots, and the elastic cord or springscould be attached to said ends of the rod, and to the beam Av, such anarrangement being merely a modification of my invention. G

In my device it is only necessary, in ease of a piekpout, to press therod or cord iiom'it'sV bearings e orde,

and the elasticity of the cord or spring draws the rod or cord c or cback out ofthe Way of the operator, thus being much more convenient, andsaving much time in manipulation.

Having thus described my invent-ion, What I claim .as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is' q A movable elastic shuttle-guide,consisting of a rod or cord, resting in or upon suitable bearings inthebraces d or 11', and operated or kept in position by means of an elasticconnection, all constructed and operating substantially as and for thepurposes herein specified.

' WM. A. HASTINGS. XVitnesses:

T. A. CURTIS, F. E. RICE.

